


Third From the Sun

by MatrixOfWumbo



Series: MCU: After Infinity [5]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Back to Earth, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Gen, Peter Quill Feels, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24721054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatrixOfWumbo/pseuds/MatrixOfWumbo
Summary: The Guardians of the Galaxy have been to some of the strangest and most inhospitable places in the universe. But when an old foe returns, they'll need to convince Peter Quill to rejoin the fold. That means going one place none of the Guardians have prepared for - Earth.
Relationships: Gamora/Peter Quill
Series: MCU: After Infinity [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1254581
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Ariel

_~Way on the other side of the Hudson~_

_~ Deep in the bosom of suburbia~_

_~I met a young girl~_

_~She sang mighty fine~_

_~Tears on my pillow and Ave Maria~_

\- Dean Friedman, 1977

**Lotiara, 2016**

A green sun crested over the planet Lotiara and cast its light upon the _Milano III_. Peter Quill watched it fill the wide canopy of the cockpit. In the future, the ship's owner mused, he would need to get more creative with his names. After all, the outlaw turned slightly-less-out-of-law hero known as "Star Lord" was now the owner of a small fleet of vessels. It was one last gift from his former mentor, Yondu.

His daydreams were brought to an end by the arrival of a green skinned woman - a trait that would have otherwise stood out if not for the hue of the dawn outside. She tossed a backpack to Peter.

"The Sisters of Badoon are expecting us just after dawn. We don't want to be late."

"Sorry about that," Peter said sheepishly. "Hell of a view out there. Got me distracted."

"You'll need all the focus you can muster on this mission," Gamora replied in her typically serious tone. "Especially given your circumstances of your gender."

"My gender? What's their problem with men?"

"You really don't know?"

"I know the Badoon have been in a civil war for like ten thousand years. Come to think of it, I've never seen a lizard guy and a lizard lady together."

"The Male and Female Badoon have been at war with each other for their entire existence. The entire planet is split between them."

Peter snickered. "Sounds like a nasty divorce."

"No, I mean they _literally_ split it - look there."

As the planet turned below them they came upon a chasm of truly unfathomable proportions. It was several hundred miles wide and penetrated all the way through the core of the planet, so that once they were directly over it they could see stars twinkle on the other side.

"Holy shit," he breathed. "So it's going to be you and two dudes in a room full of warrior chicks who blew their planet in half to keep the men away?"

She thought about it for a moment.

"You _might_ want to let me do the talking on this one."

"Were the _Brothers_ of Badoon hiring?"

"They were outbid," Gamora said with a grin.

Peter shook his head. "Can't we all just get along?"

"Peter, you know as well as I do that that's impossible for some people. They can carry a grudge a long way."

The sunlight now fully split the two halves of the planet down the middle. The two Guardians grabbed their packs and moved downstairs to meet with Drax. Gamora took one last look at the bizarre green dawn.

"Still, it's nice to imagine."

* * *

Far away from Peter and Gamora, there was a woman.

She sat on the bed in her chambers, her hair released from its tight bun underneath her headdress. She was staring intently, as she had for several months now, at the pod before her. Soon it would open, and her creation would live. The perfect organism.

Her darling Adam.

_~Tears on my pillow and Ave Maria~_

_~Tears on my pillow and Ave Maria~_

**((((|The Guardians of the Galaxy|))))**

**in**

**((((| Third From the Sun |))))**

* * *

**4 Years Later**

Gamora was nearly knocked from her seat by an explosion.

"Grah! I hate the Badoon!"

The _Estefan_ surged through a hail of plasma bolts as it descended into the Lotiaran Rift.

"Why… again… are we doing this?" Mantis asked between bouts of turbulence. The insectoid empath was holding onto her control console for dear life.

In front of her a raccoon (if Mantis knew what a raccoon was) was frantically pulling levers on the helm.

"Yes, Gamora," Rocket shouted. "Do enlighten us!"

Nebula ran her fingers through her hair and groaned. She had been working with the Guardians alongside her sister for about three years now, and could call them trusted allies. Perhaps even friends, if the mood struck her. She liked to think her father's defeat had allowed her to move beyond her previously hateful demeanor. But patience was still not her strong suit.

"Let's go over this one more time."

She pulled up a schematic of the planet. A series of red posts interlaced the two halves.

"Planets are meant to be round. The rift that separates Sisterhood Lotiara from Brotherhood Lotiara is stabilized by a series of Gravity Pillars. Only the Badoon have spent so much time fighting each other that nobody has been bothering to perform the calibration sequences on them."

Gamora zoomed the model in on one of the pillars.

"The Spartoi Zoological Committee declared the Badoon an ecologically significant species. If the Grav Pillars go, the two halves of the planet will smash together and eliminate 90% of the population. They're paying us quite handsomely to recalibrate the gravitons."

"It helps that we're the only ones stupid enough to take the job," Rocket grumbled.

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"It's true," Drax said. "We have worked with the female lizard people before. Surely they will welcome our aid again."

"They don't know we're coming," Gamora explained. "The Brotherhood took down their communications array six weeks ago, and then the Sisterhood took theirs down a week after that in retaliation."

"We will be the first vessel to make contact since then," Nebula added.

"Then how will they know who we are and what we're there for?"

Nebula transferred weapons control to Gamora and headed belowdecks.

"Start the music Rocket. We will let them know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! I've been holding onto this own for a while - hope you enjoy.
> 
> If you're interested in a mildly less ridiculous space adventure, I also started updating my Episode IX revision "The Final Order" this weekend. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Radar Love

_~The road has got me hypnotized~_

_~And I'm speedin' into a new sunrise~_

_~When I get lonely and I'm sure I've had enough~_

_~She sends her comfort comin' in from above~_

\- Golden Earring, 1973

The exposed mantle of Lotiara made for an ideal flat surface from which the Sisters of Badoon could look up at their hated enemies. Due to the peculiar gravity of the inner space of the planet, the Brotherhood could also look up and see them. Thus was it that, most days of the year, the majority of the Badoon swarmed the planet's carved edge and fired upon one another.

The immense pressure at the core of the planet kept the magma there from cooling, which the Badoon used to their advantage. Towering lava cannons funneled molten rock out of the core and into powerful mortar strikes. Both sides claimed that they invented it only for the other side to steal the designs.

On the Brotherhood side, the troops were wheeling one of the massive battlements into position.

"Sir. Do you hear that strange melody?"

A brotherhood general watched the _Estefan_ cruise into the line of fire.

"The Guardians of the Galaxy," the general growled. "They're back to sabotage us for the Sisterhood again. Concentrate your fire on the ship!"

Far above them, one of the Sisterhood admirals strode to the end of a lava cannon and pointed at the ship.

"What are they doing? The Brotherhood must have paid them to take out the Gravity Column. Destroy the Guardians, sisters!"

* * *

"Multiple Sisterhood weapons targeting us!" Mantis shouted.

"I am Groot!" Groot pointed at a series of alerts from the ship's computers detecting Brotherhood frequencies locking on the ship.

"Take us low, Rocket," Gamora said. "I'd rather only get shot at by one side if we can help it."

"What about _no_ sides?" Rocket said in desperation.

"Not an option!"

In the pod bay, Nebula and Drax were suiting up.

"We won't have much time once Rocket gets us into position. Are you ready?"

"I am always ready."

" _Good_ ," Rocket's voice came out of the speakers in the escape pod. _"Now hold on tight!"_

The raccoon banked hard to the left, so that the bottom of the ship was parallel with the wall of the Graviton Complex. At the same time, Nebula launched the pod out of the _Estefan_ 's stern. As soon as they were clear Rocket pulled the ship into a frighteningly steep vertical ascent and rode the gravity well up to the other side of the rift. Gamora clutched the amber gemstone on her neck for luck as the ship thundered upwards.

* * *

The graviton substation was a half-circular room with a huge glass window overlooking the pillar beyond. There were banks of computers with room for several technicians to sit at, but all of them were empty.

"This place has been abandoned for a long time," Drax wiped a finger across one of the monitors and brought up a layer of dust.

"The Badoon have diverted all of their resources and attention to warfare with the opposite sex. Apparently that includes all their astrophysicists."

Nebula woke up the facility from the mainframe, and a chorus of fans and power coils announced themselves to the pair of Guardians.

"Leave the bags here, we have to be ready for Gamora's signal," she called over the hum of the machinery.

Drax unpacked some of his knives and looked up at the massive pillar.

"Ironic, isn't it?" He mused. "They fight without end, yet only by working together can they prevent their own destruction."

"Who could imagine?" Nebula said dryly, and with more than a bit of guilt that Drax didn't pick up on.

Outside, the female Badoon were amassing with rams and rocket launchers. The Sisters hammered on the door. Metallic clanging rang through the chamber.

"Ready your blades," Nebula said. "Go entertain the Badoon while I install the calibration data."

* * *

Rocket put the finishing touches on a box of machinery at the base of the doorway. They were in an identical empty substation on the other side of the gravity pillar. It looked a lot like the central manifold of Nidavellir, where Thor had taken Rocket during their struggle against Thanos a few years ago. There were about a hundred of these pillars spanning the mantle of the planet, but once Gamora and Nebula plugged the program the Spartaxi had given them into the mainframes on both halves of the planet it would travel through the network and recalibrate the whole matrix.

"Remember, we have to release the gravitons from standby at the same time, or they won't cycle back into regular operation."

The small creature pushed a button on his wrist, and the box opened to reveal a turret gun.

"Should only be a few more minutes," Gamora muttered.

"They are coming!" Mantis pointed out one of the exterior windows. Below her a squadron of Brotherhood Trebuchets were beginning to lob lava rocks at the substation. The station was built to last (the engineers had foreseen that future generations of Badoon may forget who put them there and consider them weapons from the other side), but none of the Guardians were interested in testing its craftsmanship.

Rocket raised his hand. "Are we allowed to kill a protected species?"

"Badoon are very resilient," Gamora answered. "And they reproduce quickly."

"Yuck. Well, circle of life. C'mon, Groot."

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, Mantis should come too. Gamora, you and the turrets can keep the station under control, yeah?"

"I'll manage. Go."

Mantis ran forward through the door, hopping over the head of the first Brotherhood soldier waiting outside. The Badoon were not especially bright; she only needed a brief touch to send them unconscious.

"Sleep. Sleep! _Sleep!_ "

A few Badoon had swarmed through the doorway as the Guardians exited. The first three up the stairs were shredded by Rocket's homemade Stun Sentries. The rest would have to deal with the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy…

* * *

Drax laughed like a man possessed as he twirled his blades through the tide of scaley warriors.

"Come, lizard women! Test your might against Drax - The Destroyer!"

A club came down over his head, briefly stunning him. The crowd thinned as a Badoon Baroness a head taller than Drax and adorned with black and red feathers strode through the ranks. She was carrying a mace made of the jawbone of a very large animal.

"You wish to test our might, Drax the Manlet? Then let the education begin!"

* * *

Gamora exhaled as the boot procedure finished. She wiped off her sword on the hem of her shirt and stepped over a fallen Badoon to the console. Nebula's voice came through the channel.

_"Sister, we're meeting resistance. What's your status?"_

"We're holding the line," Gamora watched Rocket fly by on his Aero-Rig.

_"Good. Recalibrating on the count of three. Ready?"_

"Ready. One!"

_"Two."_

"Three!"

The sisters engaged the program. For a brief moment the pillars all blinked out in unison. The Badoon outside reeled as the ground beneath them lurched upward. Drax took the opportunity to extricate himself from the dogpile of Sisters he was under.

But as quickly as they shut down, the gravitons screamed back to life and the planetary fragments were pushed back into alignment.

"It worked!" Drax exclaimed, dripping with lizard fluid.

"I see that," Nebula pushed a Badoon Sister out of the way of the pod door. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

" _Nebula! The gravitons are active, we're heading for the Jump!"_

"Right behind you. We're taking a shortcut."

Drax and Nebula rode their pod up the gravity pillar, the small vessel bathed in white light.

"Just have to make sure we exit the beam before we reach the repulsor well."

"What would happen if we didn't?" Drax asked.

"We would get shot out the other side. After being compressed into a lump of carbon as large as your head."

"Ah, yes. Do not hit the repulsor well."

* * *

"The Pillars are back on and stabilized," a Scout Brother reported.

"No one stabilizes our pillars and lives!" The commander shouted. "Fire on that ship!"

"I **hate** the Badoon!" Gamora shouted over the roar of the plasma cannons.

"Jump is two clicks ahead," Rocket concentrated.

"I am Groot!" Groot shouted.

"The pod!" Mantis echoed.

Nebula and Drax were coming in hot out of the column of light - right towards the ship.

"Rocket!"

"I'm going! Everybody hold onto something!"

He banked harshly to the side, the pod bay of the ship pointing at his out of control friends.

"Docking clamps engaged, Rodent," Nebula said calmly. "Be ready to receive."

At the moment the _Estefan_ reached the hexagonal jump point, the pod slammed into the hull of the ship. The force knocked the craft through the jump and spinning wing to wing.

Nebula and Drax entered a ship in disarray, full of upside down furniture and overturned crates. Another typical mission for the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Mantis greeted them, having fallen down the stairs into the crew quarters during the impact.

"We were successful!" She nodded eagerly.

"We should be very proud, Drax said, catching his breath. "We have saved an entire species of imbeciles."

* * *

A Badoon nudged her commanding officer awake.

"Sister General! The Guardians have left."

The Baroness coughed.

"What did they do to the graviton substation?"

"They appear to have turned the lights on inside."

A hot wind blew across the lava flats.

"I didn't know we had lights in the graviton substation."

* * *

**The _Manifest Destiny_ , Sovereign Capital Ship**

Carving its way through the spacelanes was a massive golden ship. Shaped like a single great wing, its plow-shaped nose stretched fifteen hundred feet high and broadened into a span as wide as most cities. A number of the gold-skinned crew members within were gathered in the main hall of the ship as she entered; High Priestess Ayesha, leader of the Sovereign Genetic Council. She held up a hand to halt the applause they gave her.

"My fellow Sovereign! Long have we waited for this day. While the lesser systems hail them as heroes, we know them for the thieves they are - the Guardians of the Galaxy."

The crowd erupted in boos and jeers.

Behind her a hardlight screen appeared, showing the outside of the ship. Beneath the _Manifest Destiny_ a hatch opened. A skyscraper-sized drum extended from the hatch and began to pulse with light.

"30 floors beneath our feet, the ultimate weapon sits poised to launch. It will seek the Guardians, and it will destroy them, and we will finally correct the imbalance of these last six years."

With a bass outburst of sound the drum discharged. Longer than eight freight cars and four times as thick, a second drum telescoped outward.

"For the glory of the Sovereign!" Ayesha called out, and thousands of voices called out in kind, "For the glory of the Sovereign!"

A high-pitched scream accompanied the muzzle flash of the second drum, as a third one - the size of a city bus - emerged from its end.

"For the blood of our betrayers!"

With a small chime, a fourth capsule emerged from the end of the third. This one was small, about the size of a phone booth.

"I give you - the ultimate lifeform."

The phone booth-sized capsule split into four and dovetailed open to reveal the glowing form of a man.

"Adam Warlock!"


	3. Smoke on the Water

_~With a few old lights, a few old beds~_

_~We made a place to sweat~_

_~No matter what we get out of this~_

_~I know I know we'll never forget~_

\- Deep Purple, 1973

The _Estefan_ cruised through a cloud of stardust on its way home.

"Another job well done, Guardians," Rocket said as he set the ship into autopilot.

"It was certainly done," Nebula replied. "Things never go 'well' with the Badoon."

"Well we've been through worse. Positive thoughts, sister."

It was still somewhat shocking for Gamora to see her sister this way. Without the cybernetic modifications Thanos had forced upon her in their youth. Nebula had hair now, and her eyes were brighter. She was still the obligately stern person she had been for most of her life, but a few years ago she never would have put up with the _colorful_ antics of the Guardians.

After Thanos' defeat, the Guardians took ownership of the remaining five Infinity Stones. The Time Stone was destroyed by the Mad Titan in an effort to preserve his masterpiece of death. Finding new places to keep the Stones had been a daunting task. Many of their previous hiding places were chosen by gods; Gamora and company had to find places more secret, more dangerous than even they had. Most of which involved putting on blindfolds while Groot controlled the navigational computer, then looking for the black hole closest to where they ended up. After over a year, the work was done, and they could go back to their real jobs - stopping high profile intergalactic crime and protecting the galaxy's most vulnerable.

"Hey Gamora, come take a look at this."

Rocket was back at the pilot's console when Gamora came upstairs. He was looking intently at a small shape coming upon the _Estefan_

"There's a guy. Outside in space. He's coming right for us."

"Hostile? Should we take evasive action?" Nebula asked.

He was moving quite fast now towards the bridge. But before he reached them he stopped and gave a small, awkward wave.

"Um. Hi," Mantis said, waving back.

"Mantis, we don't know this person," Gamora chided.

He wearing a red and black suit with a sash flowing behind him. His eyes were set deep in harshly angled golden face, framed by wavy locks of pale blonde hair. He waited for the Guardians to respond with a pleasant expression. Then at once the instruments crackled and whined all across the bridge of the _Estefan_ , until finally they all synced to broadcast a signal.

_May I come in?_

The Guardians reacted about as well as you might expect.

"Gah! Kill it! Kill it!" Rocket screamed.

"Mantis, prepare to jump," Nebula said. "We'll come back around for the _Quadrant_ from the other side."

"Perhaps he wishes to hire us," Drax countered. "He has not threatened us so far."

"He just hacked all our instruments without moving his arms!" Rocket argued.

"I am Groot!"

Gamora motioned for calm.

"Wait, everyone. Drax might be right."

"Ha ha! Yes!"

"Don't encourage him, sister," Nebula rolled her eyes.

"We don't have any way of communicating with him out there, but in here we can find out what he wants. And then deal with any threats."

* * *

"Greetings, Guardians. My name is Adam Warlock, but you may call me Adam." He extended his hand, but the six aliens only stared at him with emotions ranging from confusion to hostility.

"My research suggested that the 'handshake' was a common method of honorable greeting among bipedal species. Perhaps I was mistaken," he trailed off.

"Why have you come?" Mantis asked.

"I have come to consult you on a… discrepancy I have uncovered. By all accounts, you seem to be good at helping others with their problems."

"Well... Adam..." Gamora started slowly. "It sounds like you know us, but we don't know you. But your gold skin - are you?"

"Of the Sovereign, yes. You may remember them because several of you crossed them in the past."

"Oh no, not those psychopaths," Nebula winced.

"Adam Warlock of the Sovereign," Drax nodded. "What business have you with us? The Sovereign has wished us dead for six years."

"Quite. And I was designed as the perfect weapon to carry out that task. However, I feel like it would be improper to destroy you without meeting you in person."

"Okay, I've heard enough," Rocket cut the golden figure off with the cocking of a rifle, which he then fired at Adam's head. With a flick of his hand the bolt stopped short and fizzled into a meager spark.

"Perhaps I am too forward. Please excuse me, for I am still young, and thus unfamiliar with the social customs of homicide."

Rocket's mouth fell agape and he looked at his rifle again. Nebula pushed it down with her hand as she walked forward.

"You've come to kill us, and you clearly are more than powerful enough to do it in an instant. So why haven't you?"

"As I said, I wish to get to know you. I have spent the entire three years of my maturity being trained to exterminate you. I know your strengths, your weaknesses. But there is an irregularity. My creators have ingrained within me the severity of your crime against the Sovereign; the theft of extremely rare and valuable Annulax Batteries."

"I am Groot," Groot whispered to Drax.

"No, he was right the first time," Drax whispered back.

"And while you are certainly guilty of that, the incident does not seem to align with the rest of your history."

"You mean we're not criminals," Gamora said. "Of course. The Sovereign is the only nation in the Galaxy who thinks otherwise."

"It all makes perfect sense," Adam continued. "The penalty for crimes against the Sovereign is death, and you committed a crime against the Sovereign. Therefore by Sovereign Law you should be killed. But there is an… uncomfortable feeling I associate with carrying out your sentence."

"The first kill is the hardest," Nebula admitted. She was trying not to think about how they were commiserating over killing her and her friends.

"It's not for everyone," Gamora agreed.

"But why?" I have only ever been taught one thing. Where does this… secondary directive come from?"

Rocket laughed.

"That's an easy one. Those shiny idiots tried to program you to be something you're not. I hate guys like that. I mean, half of us here were the same way."

"We were raised by Thanos, who trained us to kill and conquer for him," Gamora nodded. "We grew beyond him, but it was… a difficult way to grow up."

"Hell, I don't even know why they made me for. But I hope whatever it is, I ain't doing what they wanted."

"Gamora, I must ask. I expected Peter Quill to be here. The Sovereign was hoping to destroy you all at once. Perhaps he is out guarding a different part of the Galaxy?"

Gamora became rather sullen.

"Pete isn't running with us, these days," Rocket said carefully. "He went back home after the big thing with the Infinity Stones on Earth."

"I see. That is… unfortunate."

Adam and the Guardians talked for a while about a variety of subjects. They turned out to have rather a lot in common. By the time an hour had passed they were rather fond of their reluctant assailant.

But then the beeping of the proximity alarm brought them back to reality.

"Oh," he said, standing up. "I lost track of time."

The _Manifest Destiny_ crashed through the Jump Point and filled the viewscreen of the ship.

"Shit," Rocket ran to the console to fire up the engines. "That's a big ship!"

Golden men and women in armored space suits dropped from the ship as it passed overhead, clamping onto the _Estefan_ with magnetic boots.

"Guardians of the Galaxy!" The face of Ayesha, a former client of the team, appeared in the visors of all the soldiers. "Lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides, a Sovereign Punitary Associate will be with you momentarily to collect you for your execution."

"High Priestess, please, I was making progress!" Adam exclaimed.

"We expected immediate results, Adam! No excuses!"

"Everyone get close!" Gamora shouted.

She clutched the amber stone at her neck and focused her mind.

The Sovereignites all fell to the floor where they stood, their golden eyes darting around frantically. In a bubble in the middle of the bridge the Guardians huddled around Gamora.

Only Adam was able to struggle to his feet, looking at the glow in Gamora's eyes. His eyes fell to her necklace.

"That pendant is harming you. Why do you wear it?"

"Because I can't trust anyone else to," Gamora's brow furrowed as she labored under the strain of the Infinity Stone.

"I am… sorry."

"Yeah… I guess I'm sorry too."

There was a flash of light, and when Adam's vision returned he and the Sovereign soldiers were floating in space. The ship - and the Guardians - were nowhere in sight.

* * *

Nestled between the rings of a nearby planet was the Headquarters of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The _Estefan_ docked up with the _Third Quadrant_ , the surviving piece of the ship Peter grew up in as a Ravager. Waiting for them on the bridge was the surviving member of that Ravager faction, Kraglin.

"Welcome back, everybody! How did the Badoon thing go?"

He looked at the holes cut into the hull of the _Estefan_.

"Aw hell, what happened to the ship?"

"We met an assassin who wants to be our friend," Drax said brightly.

"Or a friend who wants to kill us," Mantis brushed aside one of her antennae.

"Our old friend _Ayesha_ paid us a visit today," Gamora clarified. "She has a powerful new creation to destroy us with, but she made it sentient, so he had other thoughts on the matter."

"So… what does that mean for us?"

"I don't know. We escaped before things could escalate any more."

"I hope Adam will be alright," Mantis said.

"I doubt we'll see him again, Mantis," Rocket shook his head. "Her royal doucheyness seemed royally cheesed off at the guy when we left. He failed his mission."

"So… she's going to kill him?"

"She'll see it like a failed experiment. They always do," he muttered.

"Let's just try to forget about it for tonight," Gamora said. "It's been a long day. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room."

* * *

Nebula knocked on Gamora's door.

"It's me, sister."

"Come in, Nebula."

Gamora was on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted. I wasn't expecting two life-threatening experiences today."

"I didn't mean the mission," Nebula said. "It's been a while since anyone has mentioned Quill."

"There's nothing left to say. He blames himself. Thanos had to take one more thing from us on his way out."

Nebula sat on the bed next to her.

"I didn't even try to talk him out of it," her voice caught in her throat. "I didn't know what I could say."

Nebula took a deep breath. "You've never told me that before."

Gamora closed her eyes.

"You know, I would have given anything for this back when we were kids. To have a sister who would come to talk when I was feeling down."

"I know. We all blamed ourselves for a lot of things that happened back then."

"Can't we all just get along," Gamora said wryly. "I remember he said that once."

"If only our enemies felt the same way."


	4. Man After Midnight

_~There's not a **SOUL** out there~_

_~No one to hear my prayer…~_

\- ABBA, 1979

On one of the interlinked planets of the Sovereign, a great gathering of Gene Priestesses was beginning. They thronged into a massive shining arena, at the center of which was Adam Warlock. He was bound by his hands, feet, and neck, covered in nearly a hundred electrodes with wires criss-crossing in and out of accompanying machinery.

"Please, Mother!" He cried out for Ayesha. "I'm sorry! I beg of you!"

Ayesha was far out of earshot. She was greeting some other Sovereign dignitaries in a private booth above the stands.

"Development of the Warlock Project has consumed a great deal of Sovereign resources," the Treasury Minister began almost immediately.

"We have entrusted this business to you because we thought you could handle it," the Social Customs Minister added.

"I assure you, the Genetic Ministry has not erred in the construction of Adam," Ayesha said with a tired contempt.

"Then why has he failed in his directive to destroy the Guardians? Our system has become something of a laughingstock amongst the interstellar community for how long this vendetta has been dragged out."

"This is nature. Intuition. Adam is too genteel to sully his hands on a job like this. Which should be of little surprise. It's typical of high born Sovereign such as ourselves. He observes, he reasons. He is young, and has not yet grasped the strictures of our laws."

"And the council presumes that you have a solution to this, Ayesha?"

"Of course."

An array of tubes and needles opened up behind Adam's head. Dark blue ichor began to flow through the apparatus as pumps started to hum. The women gathered around Adam had their heads bowed. They were deep in meditation, whispering a chant.

"If killing the Guardians isn't in Adam's nature, then we shall override that nature with someone else's. The Mental Analogue Guidance System, or 'Magus.' A second mental blueprint, edited to tighter specifications and injected directly into his cerebellum. Once the procedure is completed he will kill anyone we tell him to - or the Magus will. The distinction hardly matters."

Then, as the chanting of the priestesses below reached its peak, the procedure began. Syringes embedded themselves into the base of Adam's neck, causing the biologically engineered being to howl in pain. At the same time, enough electricity poured through the electrodes on his face to plunge the arena into intermittent darkness. Adam's golden skin grew incandescent, obscuring his form from the onlookers. The whispering congregation fell silent, the screams of their creation the only sound echoing mercilessly through the open air chamber. Until finally the outburst of energy melted the machinery surrounding Adam, and everything - the screams, the light, the power failure - ended.

There was a shape, huddled in the center of the charred arena floor. A pair of glinting amber eyes snapped open, connected with Ayesha's own for a brief second - and then the newly reborn creature vaulted into the night sky and out of view.

* * *

_The Soul World. An infinite expanse of perfectly flat, perfectly still water and orange mist. Gamora had been a resident - a prisoner, really - of this place for five months after Thanos killed her to steal the Stone in which the Soul World resided. What was she doing here now?"_

_"Oh. You, again."_

_A wispy shape was walking towards her. Gamora's connection to the Soul Stone revealed its identity._

_"Adam?"_

_"Hello Gamora," the shape looked at his arms. "I suppose this means it hasn't finished yet."_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm not sure. I don't even know how I found myself here. But I'm glad I did. I wanted to see you again."_

_"...Okay," Gamora's brow furrowed_. _"Listen, you seem like a nice guy but it's not really a great time right now. I had a pretty rough day."_

 _"Quite_. _I'm having an interesting evening myself. Being alive… it's quite exhilarating, isn't it, Gamora?"_

_"You're scaring me."_

_"I apologize. But I… I think I need your team's help. There's someone else. He's going to kill me."_

_"You're not making any sense, Adam. Slow down." Gamora had never communicated with a soul this way before._

_Adam's form suddenly tightened into a clearer image; now Gamora could see the fear in his eyes._

_"Please help me. But first, you need to run. He's coming."_

_"Who is coming? Adam!"_

_"No!"_

_The water at his feet turned black and he started to sink._

_"Adam!"_

_Adam screamed as he was pulled down. Then he was gone._

* * *

Gamora vaulted out of bed. The scream was still ringing in her ears, as though he had been in the room with her.

"Everyone, up. Now! Something is wrong!"

The whole ship rocked from a sudden impact.

"Are we under attack?" Kraglin called down from his bed.

"Something's trying to get in through the cargo hold," Rocket said, blinking away his sleep long enough to check the sensors.

"I am Groot?"

"Sure, but at the rate it's going it will break straight through, locks or no locks."

"Mantis, Groot, Drax, you're with me," Gamora ordered. "We're going to the hold to get a visual. Kraglin, Nebula, Rocket - go to the bridge and ready the engines to jump as soon as we're clear."

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Kraglin saluted as the Guardians took their positions.

* * *

"Masks, all of you," Gamora threw the materializers to her friends and affixed one to her own ear.

"If it breaches, the oxygen in here is going to evacuate."

With a final slam the intruder punched through the door and landed crouched in the center of the hold.

The door peeled away and launched into space as the room depressurized. Alarms blared and the room was plunged into red light. A thin layer of ice sublimated off of the being's skin in plumes of white vapor.

Gamora's eyes widened.

"Adam?"

He had the same strong build and sculpted features that Adam did. But his skin was stained a pale violet, and his hair was bleached white. The sash around his waist billowed in the escaping air, until the emergency hatch slammed shut. His face was frozen in a scowl, unflinching at the sudden pressure differential.

"I am Groot," Groot whispered.

"It looks like him," Mantis agreed, "But there's something… _wrong_. All wrong!"

The Adam-shaped being looked at Mantis. Small points of golden light flickered in the black, sunken gloves of his eyes.

"Guardians. I am Magus. Prepare to die."

Drax charged at him with knives drawn. The Magus raised his hand and conjured a wall of lavender-white fire that surged through the hangar. Closing the gap between himself and Gamora, he swung the green-skinned woman upwards into the ceiling. She stuck for a moment, then came down with a thud.

"Die for the Sovereign!"

Pulling herself up, Gamora looked at Adam's path of destruction. She could see the chains of their cargo hoist up above, dislodged from their housing and hanging by their counterweight.

"Sister! The hangar doors!"

Nebula followed Gamora's gaze and took off towards the controls for the hatch. If it wasn't a great plan, but there weren't many options. She rolled underneath another jet of flame and positioned herself behind a crate next to the control panel.

Gamora climbed up the gantry system while Mantis, Groot, and Drax distracted Adam. He hacked through one of Groot's arms and spun around to jab Drax in the stomach.

"Leave us alone!" Mantis shouted, taking her offensive stance.

The Magus grabbed Mantis by her throat, lifting her above his head. Gasping, she reached out to Adam's arm.

"You are _confused_."

The blue skinned being recoiled sharply, dropping Mantis to the ground. He looked at his arm, and his vision went fuzzy.

"Where… where am I?"

Gamora watched from the cranes overhead.

"Jump now, Kraglin!"

"Where to?"

_"Anywhere!"_

Kraglin shoved the throttle forward and the _Third Quadrant_ leapt forward towards the jump gate. At the same time, Gamora kicked through the counterweight on the hoist, and Nebula disengaged the emergency hatch.

"Gamora?"

The falling chains caught Adam in the chest and then dragged him out of the airlock. As soon as he was gone the hatch shut once more, and the Guardians were free - for now.

* * *

Over the next several days Gamora felt the pangs of anguish from Adam's corrupted soul as a sort of "early warning system" for the Magus' approach. They had only a short period of time to escape through a jump from there. Their new foe was strikingly fast and ruthless. He could easily outpace the ship if they were caught off guard.

"This running away is getting ridiculous," Drax told Gamora after about a week of this.

The next day, something interesting happened. Adam didn't come for them. The next day ended the same way.

Kraglin looked at the map of their recent locations.

"Maybe they need to keep him charged up. Even the Sovereign gets tired eventually, right?"

The Guardians needed the rest, but they also had to use this opportunity to their advantage.

"Sister. I think we need to tell Quill what's going on."

"Why would he care?" Rocket asked.

"Because if they're after us, they're after _all_ of us."

Gamora looked at her sister. "Do you really think we should get him involved in this?"

"We have to. They know where he lives."

She looked around the bridge at the crew. Everyone was exhausted. They had no idea how long this respite was going to last. But Nebula was right. Peter was in danger. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but...

"Okay then," she said, collapsing into her chair.

"To Earth."


	5. Yellow Ribbon

_~I'm comin' home, I've done my time~_

_~Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine~_

\- Tony Orlando, 1973

The Guardians had visited Earth once before, for the funeral of Captain America and the subsequent wedding of Tony Stark. It was the last time their dysfunctional little family had been whole. Gamora had seen little of it, as she was inside the Soul Stone on Thanos' wrist for much of the time prior. But Rocket and Nebula had spent more time there, playing a role in restoring balance to the universe and foiling Thanos' terrible plot.

Neither sister, however, remembered the large space station being constructed in orbit over the planet. A black shape against the white-streaked blue globe below them, it was tall and stretched vertically out into the space beyond Earth's atmosphere.

A point of light emerged from the station and approached the _Quadrant_ ; as it got closer, they could see it was a woman.

Carol Danvers, recently having taken the name "Captain Marvel," was a legendary warrior. A Terran with Kree blood and cosmic strength, she helped liberate countless civilizations from Kree Imperial Rule over the course of the last 25 years.

"I thought I recognized those colors," Carol's voice came over the comms.

"Welcome to Earth, Guardians."

"It is good to see you again, Captain," Gamora nodded.

"What's all that? Nebula asked about the large structure behind the woman.

"Oh," Carol realized. "Think of that as a Welcome Center. We figured, if we built a gift shop, maybe the next people to come visit wouldn't try to blow us up."

"You should be so lucky," Gamora said dryly.

"We're actually setting up a deep space communications array, to tap into the major galactic frequencies. State of the art, ought to really take Earth into the 21st Century. Next time you visit you'll be able to call ahead, and I can clear my schedule to give you a tour."

"We don't have time for tours, Rocket scoffed. "We've gotta get Quill and get out before those golden idiots find him."

"Golden… are you guys in trouble with the Sovereign again?"

"Technically, we're still in trouble from the first time," Mantis said brightly.

"Technically, Mantis and Kraglin are not in trouble at all," Drax added. "They were not part of the team when Rocket stole the batteries."

"Maybe you should try telling them that, I bet it would go great!" Rocket spat back at the large alien.

"Okay, okay," Carol waved her arms to diffuse the raccoon.

"It sounds like you guys are in a hurry, so we'll get the formalities out of the way and get you down there."

She punched a few lines into her wrist brace.

"Normally we have one of the techs do this… there we go. Anything you'd like to declare? Any Class A explosives, biological devices, contraband foodstuffs?"

"None that I'd like to _declare_."

"Rocket!" Gamora said sharply.

"I am Groot."

"That's right. The lady only asked me specifically about items I _wanted_ to declare."

"We won't be staying long," Nebula said, ignoring Rocket. "We just want to bring Peter back out where he belongs."

"Then I'd be happy to help. I don't suppose you have an address, or anything?"

* * *

_~Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree~_

_~It's been three long years, do you still want me?~_

It wasn't quite summer yet, but Peter Quill was already feeling the heat. It was a necessity of the job that he had very few trees on the property, and a morning in the sun took its toll.

A shadow passed over him as he headed inside.

 _Must be one big-ass bird,_ he thought. And then he heard a sound.

_That's funny. Kind of sounds like a ship landing, but that's impossi-_

"I am Groot!"

Quill was immediately tackled to the ground by the 7-foot tree, a beaming smile on his barklike face.

"Groot, what are you doing here?"

"I am Groot."

He looked up to see all of the Guardians standing beyond the tree friend.

"Guys. What are _all_ of you doing here?"

Then he turned Gamora. His face flushed with emotions.

"Hey, Peter," Gamora said quietly.

"Hi…"

Then he noticed the _Estefan_ , and the neatly manicured lawn it was parked atop of.

"Oh no, you landed on my crop!"

"Your crop?" Rocket squinted. "Do humans grow like, invisible pumpkins on Earth?"

"No, Rocket! My sod!"

"I am Groot."

"That's not a very nice thing to say on this planet, Groot," Mantis giggled.

"So, it's grass," Rocket shrugged. "We passed like a billion miles of it on our way down here."

"I have heard," Drax said ponderously, "that on Earth they burn this 'grass' to obtain extreme cognitive abilities. This much of it must be extremely valuable."

Peter was running across it with alarm.

"It's not that kind of grass! Sod is carefully manicured and vacuumed to produce a soft, uniform, aesthetically pleasing surface. It takes months to grow a robust enough layer."

"Okay, so it's prissy grass," Rocket snickered.

"Can you be even slightly helpful, ever?" Nebula groaned.

"We'll move the _Estefan_ off your sod, Peter," Gamora said gently.

"So… you've taken up farming?"

"Yeah. Why don't we go inside, I'll get us all something to drink."

* * *

"My Grandpa died, about a year and a half ago. None of the other family members were local anymore, so I'm watching it for now. Sold off a bunch of acres, kept this plot for myself."

Peter handed Mantis a glass of lemonade.

"Why did you choose grass?" The antennaed woman asked.

"I thought I'd start simple. It's decent money, too. They use it in sports, parks, that sort of thing."

He looked at his friends.

"You're not here for a personal visit, are you? What's up with you guys?"

Gamora sighed.

"The Sovereign is after us. They've created a super warrior to kill us."

"Oh. Oh, man. So, you guys need help with your plan?"

"We were actually hoping that you would-"

"Ohhh, No." He put up his hands.

"Peter," Gamora started.

"No! Jesus, Gamora, we've been through this!"

"It concerns you, too!"

"No. It doesn't. I thought I was pretty clear, I worked pretty hard on that letter."

"Quill," Drax said. "We thought you would be worried about your own safety. You left behind your weapons, your gear. If Adam Warlock comes to Earth you'll be defenseless."

"I am worried. But I know the Guardians of the Galaxy are on the job, so everything will turn out alright. You're my friends, I know you'll be great. Now, are you guys gonna stay for breakfast tomorrow, or what?"

There was a long silence.

"I think that would be nice, wouldn't you, sister?" Nebula shot a look at Gamora.

"Very well," Gamora relented.

"If you don't mind, I'm gonna take the Estefan back up for the night," Kraglin said. "All those government types up there around the Quadrant have me nervous."

"Hey, mind if I tag along?" Rocket asked. "Got a bit of a plan you can help me with…"

* * *

"So, this is you. A little small, but-"

"It's lovely, Peter."

It was certainly a softer touch than the places Gamora had been sleeping recently. There was only so much one could do to spruce up a Ravager vessel.

"Now don't think you're hurting my feelings if you have to hurry off tomorrow. I'm sure the Galaxy has you constantly running around."

"No," she shook her head. "Things have been pretty relaxed. Setting our own hours, taking whatever missions we want. Ever since Thanos was defeated we've been pretty low on life or death crises. It's… nice."

"Yeah, well, preaching to the choir I guess but I'm just glad he's dead. It's a better universe, without Thanos in it."

"Yeah," Gamora said, looking down.

 _"You didn't kill him?"_ Peter whispered harshly, looking around as though Thanos himself could hear him from the next room.

"Death was too good for him. Too easy. You cannot tell Drax about it. Or anyone. Only Nebula knows. And Thor. He suspected us immediately."

"Hate that guy," Peter muttered.

"I promise I'll tell you all about it tomorrow," Gamora said.

"I'll want to hear about the Sovereign, too."

She smiled. "Deal."

* * *

Peter was locking up for the night when he saw a shape out in the field. It was Groot, staring absentmindedly at the stars.

"What are you doing out here, buddy?"

Groot pointed at the ground, where the scorch marks from the ship broke up the otherwise pristine sheet of green.

"I am Groot."

As he walked through the field, the blackened blades of grass returned to their verdant form. Soon, the whole scar was healed over.

"Wow, thanks Groot. You'd be pretty handy around here in the spring."

"I am Groot."

"I missed you too. I wish you could understand why I can't go back up there."

"I am Groot?"

"I can't trust myself. You shouldn't either."

"I am Groot."

"Let's not talk about it anymore. Go get some rest."

* * *

In the morning, Kraglin returned with the _Estefan_. And so did Rocket - aboard one of the Gaurdians' other ships, the _Foster._

Nebula looked at the ship. "What's this for?"

"We asked Quill to come with us, he said no, so I'm taking a vacation."

"You're really giving up on him that easily?"

"Of course not. But Quill's not gonna listen to me. Would you? Gamora's the only one who's gonna get through to him, so let's give her some space! Besides, we've been running from Adam for days. We all could use the break."

Nebula squinted.

"That may be the wisest thing I've ever heard you say, rodent. I'm in."

"Alright! Get in, a-holes! Let's get a move on!"

"And where exactly are we going?" Drax asked.

Rocket pulled out a trifold map. "Carol gave me this on my way down. All the best places to go on Earth. How many do you think we can knock out in a day?"


	6. Kodachrome

_~When I think back~_

_~On all the crap I learned in high school~_

_~It's a wonder~_

_~I can think at all~_

\- Paul Simon, 1973

The Guardians were thoroughly on vacation, criss-crossing the globe in

In Egypt, Nebula and Kraglin went to see an "Ancient Wonder" of human culture.

"The guide says they cut all these rocks by hand," Kraglin said, squinting in the harsh sun at the mammoth blocks of the pyramid.

"Sounds exhausting. Is this what people did for fun before space flight was invented?"

"C'mon Nebula, no way they did this without aliens."

* * *

"Isn't this place romantic, Drax?"

Drax stared up at the Eiffel Tower incredulously. Mantis clenched her fists excitedly.

"The Terrans say this is the most romantic place on the whole planet!"

"Perhaps this antenna needs to be activated to create amorous brain patterns."

"Now that you mention it, my empathic powers aren't picking up a lot of love…"

"Even so, stay back, Groot!" Drax called out to the tree, who was looking down at the river below.

"If this thing turns on, I may not be able to control myself!"

* * *

In Northern California, Groot looked up at the impossibly high canopy of the Redwood Forests.

"I am Groot," he whispered.

"Yeah," Kraglin said. "Some big trees there, buddy."

* * *

By lunchtime the Guardians were in Ireland, an entire pub's worth of patrons hooting and hollering around Drax as he cleared his 13th straight arm wrestling contest.

"Quill did not tell us his planet was so enjoyable," Mantis shouted to Rocket.

"And we haven't even hit the good stuff! They've got this place called Vegas that sounds _r_ _iiiight_ up our alley!"

* * *

"That was Rocket. They're on their way to Chee-Cage-Oh to try their "Deep Dish Pizza."

"Oh, Chicago? Never been. Sounds like fun."

Peter was typing intently at his computer. Gamora came closer.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, this is a pop music forum I joined. I wanted to see what I missed while I was gone. All these people come here to talk about the hottest new songs. Stupid kids, don't even know what music is."

"And this is how you spend your free time?"

"We all have to do what we can to save the world," Peter said. "For me, it's giving these people some culture."

Gamora's eyes darted around the room.

He turned off the monitor. "But enough about that. Let's hear about the Sovereign's new weapon."

Gamora sat down. "His name is Adam."

* * *

Down in the lower decks of the _Manifest Destiny_ , Ayesha passed through the last layer of biometric security measures to enter the lab.

"High Priestess," one of the scientists bowed as she entered. His colleague quickly followed suit.

"May I speak to him?" The woman asked, regarding them coldly.

"Adam is… erratic, ma'am," the first scientist said. "His brain waves are all over the place, and he isn't responding to any external stimulus."

"He will respond to me," she said moving past them.

Her creation lived in a glass enclosure that took up most of the lab. The phone booth-sized tube that he deployed from was mounted into one of the walls.

The Magus looked up at Ayesha.

"Mother."

He floated closer to her and put his indigo hand on the glass.

"You are doing well, Adam," Ayesha said. "We need only to reacquire the Guardians' trail. They are tired, they are desperate. They will crumble before you."

"I know where they are, Mother," he rumbled. "Earth. Their leader Star Lord retreated there. They will try to protect him."

"So they will," the Priestess's lips curled into a smile.

"How soon will he be ready to go back out?"

"He's in perfect physical health," the first scientist said. "Deployment is available at your order."

"Excellent," Ayesha's eyes burned.

"With all due respect, High Priestess," the other scientist spoke up, "Terra is considerably well defended. They've repelled two Class-B Invasionary forces in the last ten years alone. Not to mention the diplomatic baggage associated with attacking the planet that ended the Great Unmaking."

"Yes, yes. Enough," Ayesha raised her hand. "Your reasoning is sound. No matter. If we cannot send the Magus to Earth, we shall deliver an ultimatum instead."

She turned back to Magus.

"How did you acquire this information?"

"The Guardians told the one you call 'Adam,' and I know _everything_ that Adam does."

The scientists, seeing a breakthrough, rushed to their monitors.

"And to whom are we currently speaking?"

"I am Magus. The ultimate lifeform. Created by the Sovereign to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"And that's all you'll ever need to be," Ayesha whispered.

* * *

Las Vegas was a lot like some other planets Rocket had been to. Unfiltered, untamed. Full of light but with a seedy texture. And lots of casinos. Though it took a lot of arguing to get most of them to let a "raccoon," whatever that was, at the table.

It was getting late, and the Guardians were almost ready to move on.

"Groot and I have been collecting these cards all night, but so far none of these establishments have offered a game that uses them."

"I am Groot," Groot said brightly, showing one of his cards to Nebula. It took all Nebula had to stop herself from snorting with laughter.

"I don't think these are for gambling," Nebula said, showing the card to Rocket. "I think if you contacted 'Lylla' she'd have a different kind of game in mind."

"Yeck! Groot, don't touch those. You don't know where those guys have been."

"I have a pretty good idea," Nebula smirked.

Drax began looking through his own stack.

"Oh yes. Trixie. Candace. Madripoor."

"That one is rather odd for a Terran name," Mantis pointed out.

"Excuse me," another patron at the bar, several empty glasses in front of him, leaned closer to Mantis. "I couldn't help but overhear, and well, you guys clearly aren't from around here."

"I am Groot."

"Quite right, friend. Did I hear you mention Madripoor?"

"Are you… _familiar_ with her?" Nebula asked.

"Oh no no!" The gambler said laughing. "Madripoor is a place. A spectacular place of mischief and magic. The casinos there make this town look like roadside carnival!"

"So you've been there?" Rocket said, now intrigued.

"I've been all over the place, but I've never seen anything like Madripoor. If you're visiting Earth for the first time you simply must go see it!"

"It's not on Carol's itinerary," Kraglin said, giving the pamphlet another cursory look.

"That means it's probably really hardcore," Rocket said excitedly.

"We're hardcore!" Mantis raised her hand.

"What do you think, Nebula?" Kraglin asked.

The blue woman pondered it for a moment.

"This planet is not very advanced, for all its powerful people. I'm sure if we ran into trouble we could handle it."

"Oh, lovely!" The stranger said.

"Here, since you have a collection," he gave Groot one more card.

"That's the Raven's Egg, a favorite watering hole of mine. Tell them ol' Lenny sent you."

* * *

"So just picture; Drax hanging out of the ship over a black hole. If he touches the event horizon, he dies, but if we pull him out too early, the absorption doesn't work."

Peter and Gamora had spent the whole day catching up. After bringing him up to speed on the Sovereign, Gamora was now recounting some of their misadventures.

Peter laughed. "Man, he must have loved that."

"Drax's lack of sense comes in handy from time to time."

"Especially when it comes to hiding Infinity Stones."

"It sure makes a good story," Gamora sighed. "I just wish we all could have been around to tell it."

"Now see, you're doing it again," Peter exclaimed. "We were having a nice time, and you went and made it weird. Gamora, I broke my promise to you. The most important promise I ever made. It damn near got the whole universe destroyed. I can't forgive myself for that."

Gamora smiled sadly.

"Peter… I miss you. We all miss you. And we think you've punished yourself long enough. I've felt awful about this whole thing since the day you left."

Peter groaned.

"I never blamed you. I don't want you to blame yourself either. But I made my choice. Why can't you just respect it?"

"I've respected your choice for this long," Gamora said, a hurt tone in her voice.

"But I know if you came with us we'd be able to beat the Sovereign. The six of us were unstoppable, and now we have Kraglin and my sister too. And also, now I've seen the way you've been living since the battle with Thanos."

"What's wrong with my life now?"

"You were a _warrior!_ You couldn't always make the right call but you fought for good, innocent people. Now you're fighting - children on the computer?"

"That's different! Music was the one thing I had to remind me of Earth, and then I went back and it was all gone. It's like everything about my home planet that I loved is gone. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

"My home planet is dead, Peter! My entire race was wiped out by Thanos!"

Gamora stormed out of the bedroom.

"God, Gamora wait!"

"I'm… going for a walk!" Gamora shouted.

"Fine!" Peter shouted back as he heard the door slam. "It's a nice day, anyway… I'm sorry."


	7. She's Gone

_~I need a drink and a quick decision...~_

\- Hall & Oates, 1976

Gamora wandered down a dirt road between rows of corn.

The Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy always knew she would have to do this eventually. She dreaded it in the back of her mind. She loved him, and had never had time to confront that before the Infinity War.

Gamora didn't intend for her personal feelings to get in the way. It seemed like telling Peter the way she really felt back then had only served to complicate the relationship they already had. Now they both danced around the subject, each one of them too stubborn to talk about it. Gamora wanted Peter back because she missed him, damnit. Was that so hard? She was in a constant fear that she had gambled away her friendship by admitting her love. And she wasn't used to being afraid of... _ordinary_ things.

Maybe it was really too late.

* * *

Peter took a few gingerly steps up the ramp and into the _Estefan._ It felt like a lifetime since he had last been in one of these ships.

A wave of memories washed over him as he stepped onto the bridge. Of him, and Rocket, and Drax - and Gamora.

He didn't know _how_ he could ever go back. How could he look his friends in the eyes and tell them he was the reason for so much hardship?

 _No_ , he thought to himself. _How could I tell myself that?_

This whole mess was because he didn't want to trust himself. He didn't think he deserved his friends, his awesome life as a space outlaw. He didn't think he deserved to be loved. But even he couldn't bear to say it out loud.

"God," he scoffed, kicking one of the floor running lights.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?"

* * *

"There! Stop the car, Darryl!"

A pickup truck pulled up alongside Gamora, and a trio of humans emerged from it urgently. One of them was wearing a t-shirt depicting a Chitauri Leviathan with the words "The Truth WAS Out There" printed below. Another was in a tropical print button up decorated with almond shaped alien heads and UFOs instead of palm trees or wood-paneled station wagons. A third one, a woman, pulled out her phone and began recording.

"Oh yeah," the tropical shirt guy said when he saw the camera, seemingly forgetting about Gamora for the moment.

"My name is Darryl, and this is being recorded for posterity. We are agents of the Missouri Association for Contacting Extraterrestrials. After receiving multiple eyewitness accounts of aliens landing in this area on our Facebook page, we have discovered a member of the visiting species. Craig will now try to make contact with it, by utilizing the Universal Greeting."

Craig, the one in the t-shirt, made a V with the four fingers of his hand and approached Gamora the one way might walk towards an alligator at feeding time.

"Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep-"

"I can understand you," Gamora said flatly.

"It's a girl!" Darryl shouted.

Craig turned a shade paler and leapt back.

"Aw hell, of course she's a girl, morons," the camerawoman called to him. "Just look at 'er!"

Gamora looked down at herself, then back up at the three blankly.

"Sorry if the boys are being rude. I'm Jenny, Director of MACE. Is it true that you have come to this planet to eat us? You are legally required to tell us, or its entrapment."

"I'm not here to eat anyone," Gamora said, more tired than irritated.

"What about our brains?" Darryl asked.

"I don't think that's going to be an issue either."

"Guys, what if she wants to lay eggs in us?"

Gamora took a few long strides towards the man, so that her face was very close to his. She put her hands on her hips.

"Do you want me to lay eggs in you, Craig?"

Her communicator sounded in her pocket, and she backed off.

_"Gamora, you busy?"_

"Now isn't really a good time, Rocket."

_"Yeah, same here actually. I think we're gonna need you to come bail us out."_

"What did you do?" Gamora's voice rose.

"She's signalling the mothership," Jenny whispered.

 _"You! No outside communication!"_ She heard a new voice shout.

_"Hey, I'm making my phone call, don't I get a phone call?"_

_"That's not how it works in Madripoor."_

Gamora tapped on the device.

"Madripoor? What's going on?"

There was only static. The green woman looked at the three alien enthusiasts, still looking at her with anticipation.

"Listen. If you guys give me a ride, I can tell you all about space. Deal?"

* * *

Far above the Guardians' heads, Carol Danvers hefted a multi-ton block of electronics off of her shoulders and slotted it into place on the antenna array. She stepped back with a smile to admire her work while a team of Skrulls hooked the cables into the main rig.

"All right boys, let's fire it up and see what we've got!"

A human tech gave a thumbs up and typed some commands into the console. The antenna vibrated, and after a short, earsplitting blast of feedback, they tuned in the communication array to the right frequency field.

"Nice," Carol said. "Hey, Zor'Kiri! What kind of music do you like? I bet we get-"

_"Guardians of the Galaxy - wherever you are hiding! Hear the voice of the Sovereign, and despair!"_

"Oh, this can't be good."

* * *

The sound of a ragged engine pulled Peter from the ship. A beat up truck rolled down the driveway, with Gamora sitting in the passenger seat. When the vehicle stopped she got out and called back to the people inside.

"Thank you again, hope you got some good records for your book of faces!"

"Good luck finding the rest of your brood, Gamora!" Jenny called back.

Peter looked at her inquisitively.

"I made some friends," she shrugged.

"Gamora listened, I said some things I shouldn't have-"

She shook her head.

"We both have stuff to apologize for. But now's not the time. We have a situation."

She told Peter about Rocket's call, and the voices on the other end.

"And that was the last thing he said. I think they're in trouble, Peter."

He exhaled deeply.

"Yeah, me too. How quickly can we get to this Madripoor place?"

Gamora looked up. _"We?"_

"You still have my stuff on the ship?"

"Yes, of course."

Peter grabbed his keys out of his pocket and locked the front door.

"Then yeah. We."


	8. Teenage Lament

_~What are you going to do?~_

_~I'll tell you what I'm going to do~_

_~Why don't you get away?~_

_~I'm going to leave today~_

\- Alice Cooper, 1974

In the wooded hills of Eastern Europe, somewhere northwest of the Black Sea, was a great scar of desolation. Thin, wiry shrubs were the only things that had yet taken root between the expanse of rocks strewn from one end of the valley to the other. As the hills plunged deeper they reached a lake, the filled in remains of a dam basin. It was likely no more than a footnote in history books when Peter Quill was in school - the doomed nation of Sokovia.

How Madripoor came to float in the shallow waters of Sokovia's remains is still debated. The Yakuza will tell you it was their idea, the Triads theirs. Both of them are wrong, of course, and will likely never learn the truth. Nevertheless, Madripoor was built here, the combined efforts of East Asian capital and Eastern European entrepreneurs to establish a hub of trade and decadence west of the Himalayas. A glimmering shantytown of gaudily lit buildings spread out across the lake on large concrete-moored pontoons. Above them all was the framework of a second level, and one completed building. The Grand Madripoor Casino, as opulent a building as had ever been erected in Monaco or Macau, cast its reflection upon the still waters for leagues in every direction.

"This place looks pretty cool," Peter said as they began their descent. He straightened out his coat - the long, red Ravager coat he wore for most of his life. Gamora grinned at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just, now you look like yourself again."

* * *

The casino towered over them atop a cement staircase. Every few levels a spotlight set in the floor cast its glow upwards into the clouds. Everything was quite silent as Peter and Gamora exited the parking area.

"I'm sorry, we're not open yet," a doorman said urgently as they rushed up the stairs.

"Not open? We had some friends come here earlier in the night," Peter argued.

The doorman looked at Gamora.

"Were your friends as… colorful as you are, madam?"

"Yes. A blue woman, a man with no shirt, covered in tattoos, a tree-"

"Yes, quite. I've hardly forgotten. When they couldn't enter the casino I recommended they take their vices down to the lower level. We have a number of establishments open there at present."

"We'll check it out, thank you," Peter said, grabbing Gamora's arm.

"C'mon, let's go!" They rushed off into the darkness.

"I do hope this isn't going to become a pattern after opening day," the guard sighed, and began unscrewing his flask.

* * *

"Look, Peter," Gamora stooped down in front of the Raven's Egg, the fourth casino they had investigated. The doormen had been particularly unwelcoming of their questions there.

She stood up and handed Peter a twig.

"One of Groot's, I'm sure of it. We've picked up enough of them on the ship."

"You're right," Peter said. He looked over the area. An iron fence blocked off access to a staircase that went down into the alleyway between the Raven's Egg and the next casino over.

"I think I see more this way," he pointed beyond the fence.

"He's leaving us a trail," Gamora's eyes lit up. She grabbed the fence with both hands and pulled, tearing open a gap large enough for them to fit through.

"After you."

"Boy, I missed having you around," Peter said in awe. "You ever think about getting into farming?"

"Not even once, let's go."

* * *

"I don't get it," Rocket said, tossing a loose rock at the wall of his cell. There always seemed to be loose rocks in prison cells, ripe for throwing.

"I've probably cheated at a thousand card games. And nobody's ever been able to figure out my technique. How did these idiots do it?"

"Not just that," Nebula's voice drifted out of the slats in her cell. "These walls are at least a meter thick. No one on this planet is as strong as Drax or I. Why would they need a prison like this?"

"We do some people that strong," Drax muttered. "But they would be unlikely to find themselves in this situation."

"They covered their whole bodies, so I could not empathically influence any of them," Mantis chimed in. She was in a much more traditional cell with Kraglin; both of their hands were bound.

"Trust me, I tried."

Come to think of it, I don't know how many people under four feet they're putting in prison out here," Rocket said, musing at the diminutive size of his own cell.

"It's like they knew we were coming," Kraglin said.

"What if… they did know we were coming?" Mantis gasped, suddenly worried.

"Then it means we walked right into a trap," Rocket voiced everyone else's concern.

* * *

At the bottom of the staircase, the alley split into two directions. Gamora looked up. The buildings above created a tall, maze-like series of walls.

"Groot's trail goes in this direction. I think we should split up, in case they separated the others."

"Agreed," Peter said. "You find Groot, I'll go this way."

Gamora sprinted down the alleyways looking for more of Groot's twigs.

Soon, she heard a commotion up ahead. Crouching by a corner, she could see a circle of security guards in an opening behind the building - surrounding Groot!

Gamora tossed her hair to one side and walked out into the open. She was about halfway there when the first guard spotted her. He raised his weapon.

"Hey! Another one! Hands where I can see them!"

Gamora dashed forward, grabbed the rifle from his hand and struck him with it. Then she spun the helpless man into one of his allies and knocked the pair of them into a heap.

"Retreat!" The other two shouted to one another, but they didn't get far before she was upon them.

She didn't think she wanted to kill these guys - though it was certainly tempting - so she left her swords at her sides and opted to pummel them unconscious instead. Humans were good at a lot of things, but their bones broke easier than most species.

When the dust cleared, she unsheathed her sword and freed Groot from his restraints. The tree threw his woody arms around the green alien.

"I am Groot!"

"Good to see you, Groot." Gamora said, returning the hug. "Thanks for making it easy to find you. I followed your trail straight here."

"I… am Groot."

"You didn't? Then who did?"

* * *

Peter heard the click of the rifle before he saw the guard come up behind him. Two more came out of a side passage in the alley, surrounding Peter.

"This area is restricted!" The guard behind him barked. "Return to the upper levels immediately!"

"Wait, guys! Hang on a sec."

"You have 10 seconds to comply!"

"Wow, more generous than I thought."

A mask materialized out of the band hooked to Peter's ear.

"But actually, I have a better idea."

He kicked his heels together and activated the boosters inside them, launching above the guards and around a corner.

"Shit," he said as he landed roughly on the pavement. Had been a while since he flew last.

He drew the blasters from his holsters and ducked around the corner, catching a guard in the arm. He was pretty sure they had it coming, bringing bullets to a laser fight. Before long, the goes lay unconscious (Peter didn't like to assume) in a pile. Peter blew on the muzzle of his pistol showily and spun it back into his coat.

"Guess I still got it."

"What a mess," a voice came from behind him.

Peter could tell the person coming down the stairs was a woman by their voice and figure. But her entire body was covered in a flowing royal blue robe. Over this she wore a head wrap and a strange golden mask. The mask had all the contours of a human face, but none of the features of one. There were no eyes or any other openings through which to see under the brows, and the mouth was only a small, simple divot. Nevertheless, she crossed the floor unaided to address him.

"Sorry if I got you floors dirty, lady, but my friends have been captured."

"I must apologize as well," the woman said. "For it is I who had your friends captured."

"You? Who are you?"

"I am a… personal associate of the Chancellor of Madripoor. And also someone who very much wanted to meet with you face to face, 'Star Lord.' You might say that Destiny depends on it."


	9. Reprise

"If you wanted to meet me, you could have just called. Skip the whole _kidnapping_ thing."

"Could I have, though?" The woman's eyeless visage regarded him silently.

"I have no need for Peter Quill, the sod farmer from Missouri. But the legendary outlaw Star Lord, a man who last week you believed dead? He could be quite useful indeed. I assumed - correctly, based on your present attire - that putting your friends in danger would bring him back to life. I correctly assume a great many things. I am precognitive. I see that which has not yet happened."

"So, you used my friends as bait," Peter snarled, his hand traveling towards his blaster. "Why shouldn't I just shoot you and get my friends?"

"You still don't know where your friends _are_ , Mr. Quill. I should think the raccoon would rather leave with you than serve out his full sentence."

"What's the sentence?" He asked.

"Why, for life, of course," the woman almost chuckled.

"Life imprisonment? For cheating at a card game?"

"He broke the laws of Madripoor. A rather poorly thought out decision, I must say."

"Yeah, Rocket makes dumb mistakes all the time, but you can't just… put him in a box for the rest of his life."

The woman tilted her head expectantly.

"Okay," Peter sighed. "But that's different."

"Is it?"

"What I did, it's way worse than hustling some casino. There were people that counted on me."

"And those people remain. As do you. Fate changed, and it gave you a second chance. You have lived what can only be described as an absurd life, Star Lord. It would be a shame if that were to change."

"Why are you being so helpful?" Peter asked.

"We are not so different, Mr. Quill. Both of us equally capable of compassion and utter ruin. Let us just say you have thus far represented a considerable return on investment for your species."

"My species. So are you some kind of alien too?"

"Nothing so vulgar. I have the same claim to Earth as my home that you do. Some would say moreso. But unfortunately we are out of time. In about 6 minutes the next patrol will be around to see that their comrades have been dispatched. They will raise the alarm, and you will need to make your escape."

She turned to climb the stairs again.

"Continue forward until the passage on your third left, then take your second right, then through the double doors."

"Um. Thanks," Peter shook his head.

"Do not let me down, Mr. Quill."

"Wouldn't you know already if I do?"

She didn't respond.

* * *

Nebula heard a commotion outside. Then someone shot open the lock to the prison door and burst inside.

"Hey guys," Peter called out. "Me and the guards talked it over, turns out it was all a big misunderstanding. You're free to go."

"Pete!" Kraglin shouted. "I knew you were still in there somewhere."

"See, what I tell ya?" Rocket chimed in. "Just leave it to Gamora. And it worked."

"Where is my sister?" Nebula asked as Peter opened the cell to let her and Drax out.

"With Groot, I hope. We're leaving. Sovereign Super Weapon, remember?"

"But we didn't even get to hit Japan yet!"

"Next time, then. C'mon, creepy lady says we got 30 seconds before the guards light this place up."

* * *

"I made a pretty big mess downstairs, so I think we should head up, towards the big plate they're building over the city."

The Guardians ran up several flights of stairs, their goal being the roof of this civil building Nebula and the others were being held in.

"We think this was a set-up," Nebula told Peter.

"I know," he replied. "I met the woman behind the whole thing. But she just wanted to talk, it was pretty chill."

"Chill?" Rocket wrinkled his nose.

"That's what people on Earth are saying now, I'm trying it out."

"I think that perhaps you should stop trying," Drax suggested.

They emerged into the roof, and looked down on a sea of flashing red and blue lights. Madripoor apparently didn't have a lot of cars - most of the vehicles down below were small powered carts. But the rocket launchers being held by the police sitting in them were anything but small.

"Halt!" A single megaphone bellowed below.

"Got any plans?" Peter asked.

"Kraglin and I built an 'Annoying' mode into the fleet autopilot," Rocket said, fiddling with a remote in his pack. "If the _Foster_ runs interference we might be able to shoot our way out."

"I like the first half of your plan, Rocket," Nebula muttered, pointing at the sky. "But I think I have a better second half."

The _Estefan_ cut through the sky under the unfinished plate and hovered over the roof. The ramp opened and Groot waved at his friends. The Madripoor Police began shelling the ship, causing bits of the wings to start shearing off.

"Send the _Foster_ , Rocket!" Drax shouted. "They'll blow up the ship!"

"I'm sending, I'm sending!"

"Send while you run!" Peter yelled. "Everyone on the ship!"

Gamora ran out to make sure everyone was in.

"Peter!" Gamora shouted over the roar of the ship's engines.

"We had a good thing," she said. "I never wanted that to go away."

"Me neither," Peter said. "I think the Galaxy is safer when we put our heads together. So, maybe…"

"You want to come back to space?"

"I've always wanted to go back to space! Look at me! I was growing grass!"

"Well I can promise you that where we're going, we won't need grass. All you have to do is stay."

"Deal."

They shared a dramatic kiss drenched in the spotlights of a dozen Madripoor squad cars.

"Alright you two, break it up," Rocket cut in through the ship's intercom. "Where are we going?"

"Up," Gamora said. "We have a client to save."

"You know if I didn't lock up, it would look like I was abducted by aliens again," Peter chucked.

"What about abducted by friends?" Drax asked.

"No, that's still weird."

* * *

_"Guardians of the Galaxy - wherever you are hiding! Hear the voice of the Sovereign, and despair! We have amassed a fleet capable of laying waste to the planet Earth. It is prepared to deploy whenever I so order it to. You have 72 hours to surrender yourselves to the judgment of the Magus at the following coordinates, or I_ will _give that order. For the Glory of the Sovereign."_

Carol switched off the communicator.

"That message has been sweeping through every galactic channel for at least a day, now. Ayesha is getting serious."

"I'm really starting to dislike that lady," Peter said.

"Agreed," Carol nodded. "Do you guys want backup on this one?"

"Thank you," Nebula said. "But the target is on our heads. We won't endanger anyone else."

"Plus," Kraglin shrugged. "This might be a bit more than you can handle,not gonna lie."

"Woah woah wait." Peter held up his hand. "You got me out of retirement to fight a guy that might be too strong for _Captain Marvel?_ "

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"No shit I can't fight him _physically_ , Groot. But how else do we stop him?"

"Like I said, I have a plan," Gamora put her hand on his shoulder. "And it needs you. I'll explain more on the way."

"Okay, Gamora got really good at plans while I was out, which means we're going in head first. It's dangerous, it's so much not a trap that they're not even trying to make it look like a trap. But we need to get up close to Adam. Or... Magus. If anyone sees Ayesha, ask her how he's identifying these days, because frankly I'm having trouble."

"Now we're talking," Rocket pumped his little fist. "What kinda tunes we doing this time?"

Peter plugged his Zune into the control console.

"We're going to try something a little new."

Ayesha stood on the command deck of the _Manifest Destiny_. Below her, pacing ferally among the banks of computers, was her darling Adam. The Magus. The perfect being. Her hated enemies had only a day left to answer her ultimatum. And they would.

Suddenly, the instruments up and down the bridge began to emit static.

"Are we under attack?"

"No ma'am," a technician reported. "Someone is attempting to broadcast across all internal channels."

The static resolved into a synthetic keyboard sound. Ayesha wheeled around to the large front window of the ship.

"That music…"

_"Hey, Ayesha."_

The _Estefan_ floated into view, a man in a long red coat and an oxygen mask with glowing eyes magnetically clamped to its roof.

"Did you miss me?"


	10. Video Killed the Radio Star

_~I met your children~_

_~What did you tell them?~_

\- The Buggles, 1979

Ayesha was looking at four Ravager vessels outside the Sovereign capital ship. On top of one was Star Lord, clearly out of retirement to save his planet. She smiled inwardly. This was going nicely. Her plan had worked, and now all of her enemies in one place, ready to be evaporated by her creation.

"Adam!"

"Yes, mother," thundered the Magus as he rushed out to the nearest airlock.

* * *

"That ought to get their attention," Peter said as he reentered the cockpit.

"Everyone, stick to your part of the plan," Gamora reminded the team.

Nebula and Mantis peeled off from the formation and began circling the _Manifest Destiny_ in their ship, While Kraglin and Drax flew off in the other direction. Rocket and Groot pulled their ship up alongside Peter and Gamora.

"Remember - if you get too much heat on you, fly over to one of us. We're the bait."

"I am Groot."

"Well, now's your chance to tell him, Groot," Peter pointed. Coming at them - _very fast_ \- was the Magus.

"Time to show this jackass what we can do, Groot!"

Rocket throttled the ship forward while Groot hammered down the triggers on the forward guns. Magus was buffeted by the shots, but unharmed. He held out his hands and and projected a done around himself, redirecting the shots down into the shields of the _Manifest Destiny_. He fired twin jets of black plasma from his hands, which Rocket pitched the ship to the side to narrowly avoid before surging upwards. Magus snarled, then redirected his attention.

Peter and Gamora, meanwhile, were fleeing from their powerful enemy.

"Hook around Ayesha's ship, we'll buy us a few seconds while he flies -"

Magus exploded through the bottom of the _Manifest Destiny's_ hull, launching another stream of black energy.

"-around?"

Magus stared them down, waiting to intercept the ship with his hand outstretched. But Nebula and Mantis crashed straight into him. The enraged superbeing, face smashed against the windshield, reared back a glowing fist and thrust it through the glass.

"Eek! Get away!" Mantis shouted as she unloaded a full clip of ammunition into his hand.

"Hold onto something!" barked Nebula, but before Mantis could follow the instruction, she slammed on the reverse thrusters of the ship. This accomplished a number of things; the ship jolted to halt, throwing Mantis into the windscreen. It also dislodged Magus from the front of the ship, throwing the alien weapon into the void. Magus clawed into the side of the Sovereign mothership, leaving a trail of pale violet flame and a huge gash. He grinned savagely as he emerged from the fire, only to now be faced by Drax, hanging out of the back of the ship with a huge gun.

"Behold!" He bellowed into his space suit, hoping his foe could hear him. Then he fired Rocket's special creation, the Hadron Enforcer. It had failed to put much of a dent in Ronan the Accuser, but he didn't see any Infinity Stones on Magus.

* * *

On the bridge of the _Manifest Destiny,_ technicians were running around putting out fires of both the metaphorical and distressingly literal kind. There were warning alarms going off that they didn't remember installing. The Enforcer's detonation had tilted the entire ship off its equilibrium, leaving everyone scrambling to safety.

"Where is the crew going?" Ayesha asked pointedly. She was seated at the head of the ship, legs crossed and sitting straight as though she were in a parade.

"Evacuating, ma'am," one of the few bridge technicians remaining reported.

"What?"

"Ma'am, Magus is tearing the ship apart. At this point we'll be lucky to get her back to the Sovereign without a reactor failure."

She stood up, the whites of her eyes piercing him from their setting within her gold skin.

"Fine. Flee, like cowards, in our moment of triumph. But I will see this through. The Guardians of the Galaxy end. _**Today!**_ "

* * *

"Holy shit, did you see that?" Rocket gushed. "We need to fire that thing off in a vacuum more often. Doesn't pack nearly the same punch in an atmosphere."

"Still scanning for lifesigns," Kraglin reported.

"We have to break off," Nebula said, irritated. She and Mantis were both in oxygen masks. "Our hull integrity is compromised."

"We're almost finished," Gamora replied. "Just get back and stay safe. Leave the rest to us."

Kraglin beat his control console excitedly.

"Well guys, I don't see any life signatures. Guess that means we're done after all!"

He and Drax couldn't see Magus teleport behind them, his resplendent red sashes scorched and falling apart.

"Kraglin, look out!" Rocket called

But it was too late. Magus grabbed onto their wing and spun the ship around until it wrenched off. Then he threw it into Peter and Gamora's ship, cutting it nearly in half.

"Quill!" Shouted Rocket.

"Don't worry about us! Go make sure Drax and Kraglin don't go floating off into space!"

"I'm losing control, Peter," Gamora strained against the flight yoke.

"Put us down on the ship. Aim for something soft!"

* * *

Gamora woke up somewhere in the interior of the ship. She must have been thrown from the crash. The artificial gravity was maintaining a breathable atmosphere inside the _Manifest Destiny_ , but there was no telling how long it would last. The huge ship was nearly split in two.

"Peter?"

She stepped into a ruined corridor full of exposed pipes and wiring. Even the utilities of the Sovereign were made of shining gold.

A shape moved behind some pipes. The sound of the ship creaking drowned out the echo her voice.

"Peter!"

A hand grabbed her from behind.

"I'm afraid not," Magus sneered.

He threw her the length of the corridor, then floated after her.

"At last, I have you where I want to. No friends. No allies. No tricks. By my hand, you will face justice. For the glory of the Sovereign!"

Gamora slammed into an array of cables, the world around her spinning. Magus loomed over her menacingly, willing up his cosmic powers, ready to strike her down for good.

"Peter! Help!"

A blaster shot ricocheted off his head, causing Magus to snap his head to the right with an animalistic snarl. He telepathically seized Peter by the neck and dragged him to his waiting hand.

"Interesting. You came back to protect your mate. Using this… device."

Peter's pistol floated in front of him and disintegrated into its component parts.

"Conventional weapons have no power over me. I am the Magus, the ultimate lifeform! A demigod! And you are just a man."

"For a demigod, you sure are lousy at spotting a distraction."

Magus turned - too late - to face Gamora as she vaulted to her feet. She thrust her thumb into Magus' forehead, and everything went white.

* * *

_Peter surged through dark storm clouds, the blackness punctuated with lashes of indigo-white lightning. And then he pierced the veil, and he was in a pale orange void of glassy-smooth water. The sky was streaked with grey clouds, and the water was stained a sooty black. It felt familiar to him, somehow. The dark clouds were retreating in every direction, scattering from the light of the Soul Stone, which Gamora held aloft. Her eyes were burning with amber light._

_"This will keep him at Bay for a short while," Gamora said. Then she pointed._

_"Look, Peter."_

_Lying face down in the inch-deep pool was Adam. Peter had never met the being, but the similarity in his features to the Magus' was unmistakable._

_He turned Adam over, then waited to see if he could rouse himself. His eyes rolled open, and he perceived the shape of Peter in his long cost coming into focus above him._

_"Star Lord?" He asked._

_"Oh wow, I forgot how cool_ that _felt," Peter chuckled. "Yeah. You asked for the Guardians, you got the whole crew."_

_Adam looked to Gamora, who smiled at him._

_"It's good to see you safe," she nodded._

_"I don't know how I can thank you," Adam bowed his head low. "But I fear none of us are safe yet. I can still feel his presence."_

_"Yes," Gamora said. "And we can't stop him without you."_

_"All this time, I could see and hear everything that he could. But I couldn't feel anything. Just that invasive, creeping sensation the Magus leaves everywhere he goes. I'm not sure I could be of use."_

_"Perhaps not. But something else_ is _sure."_

_She opened up her hand and showed him the Soul Stone._

_"I see," he said, placing his hand in Gamora's and clasping the orange stone._

_"Hey," Peter protested._

_"I mean nothing untoward," Adam said, sensing his scorn._

_"This stone and I are having a conversation. It is… profound."_

_"Does it have any ideas of how to beat your evil twin?" Peter asked._

_When he opened his eyes again, they glowed the same amber color as Gamora's had._

_"Yes."_

_"We should stand back, Peter," Gamora said softly. The glow in her eyes had faded._

_The smoke was rapidly advancing on them, choking out the orange atmosphere with a haze of the darkest blue. The clouds swirled into the shape of the Magus' dark visage, whose eyes bulged when he saw Adam standing there._

"You."

_"Me," Adam replied simply._

_"I destroyed you._ Replaced _you!"_

_Adam shook his head._

_"You took my outer form. But this is my inner self. And I am in control."_

_A wave of energy emanated from his body, blowing Magus backwards._

_"I am installed directly into your brain stem!" The dark creature sputtered. "If you kill me, you will die with me!"_

_"I don't need to kill you. I need only to keep you from endangering others._

_Bolts of lightning spiraled around each other, trying to give the Magus a physical shape inside the ethereal realm._

_"Allow me," Adam announced, taking flight and launching forward towards his doppelganger. He grabbed the sparking hand of Magus' constructed form and channeled an eye-searing volume of energy through it, burning the Magus into sight. He fell prone into the shallow water, then began to sink further._

_"No. This can't be!"_

_The water around him began to purify, reflecting the orange flow of the rest of the Soul Realm._

_"I was perfect," he whispered. The smoke and darkness trailing behind him began to evaporate as his arms disappeared beneath the surface."_

_"No. You were denied a sense of empathy. A soul. So you were never perfect. You were never even complete."_

_**"Damn you!"** Magus managed to scream, before he was finally pulled below the surface._

_The light returning to the Soul Realm was fast becoming too harsh to bear, and Peter once again lost his vision in a field of white._

* * *

They were back in the Sovereign's collapsing ship. Peter was still being held aloft by his neck, and Gamora still had her thumb outstretched. She was no longer touching the sable black exterior of the Magus, but the gold skin of Adam Warlock. Adam dropped Peter sheepishly when he realized what was happening.

"Oh hey," Peter wheezed. "Adam, right? Nice to finally meet you in the flesh. And I dig the accessory, if you don't mind me saying."

"It's a good look for him, isn't it?" Gamora smirked.

It was then that Adam realized he was wearing the Soul Stone on his forehead.

"Oh, my apologies," he started.

"No. You should keep it."

"I couldn't-"

Gamora shook her head.

"It's already been decided. I have borne the Stone for a time, but I'm not strong enough to do it forever. Your physical strength is valued, of course, but your _innocence_ is what intrigued the Stone from the beginning. Your body withstands its power, but your spirit will curb its influence. _We_ can think of no one more trustworthy of watching it."

She tapped him on the forehead to signify the other vote in the matter.

"Then in that case, I graciously accept," Adam smiled. He looked almost touched.

Peter stroked his chin for a moment.

"Hey, Adam, you said you could still hear everything while you were trapped inside the Magus right?"

"...Yes."

"You think the opposite might be true as well?"

"I do not see why it would not."

"Cool," Peter said, clearing his throat. Then he pointed at Adam and scowled.

"And for the record, you didn't get beaten by a man, _or_ a demigod! Bitch!"

The roar of the fires became suddenly, intolerably loud.

"We should probably go deal with Ayesha now," Gamora said, rolling her eyes.

"See, it's because you're not a man, you're a super badass woman. When I was on Earth, I saw this movie, it had these super hot elf chicks, and there was this big battle, and-"

"There will be time for super hot elf chicks later," Adam said grimly. "Collect the other Guardians and return to your base. I must walk this path alone."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked.

"Even demigods are allowed to ask for backup," Gamora added.

"You have my deepest thanks, friends. But she has burdened you all for too long. And I have my own business with her…"

* * *

In the burning hull of the _Manifest Destiny_ , Adam Warlock floated through the wreckage looking for survivors. The gem on his forehead directed him to the corner, where Ayesha lay pinned under a support strut.

"Adam… My creation… My son… You were supposed to be perfect. How could you let them corrupt you so?"

"Corrupted? They weren't the ones who made me a prisoner of my own mind."

He crossed the room to the golden woman and lifted the strut off of her.

"If anyone tried to corrupt me, it was you."

She looked at him and started weeping.

"Why did you have to be such a disappointment?"

"I don't know, Mother," Adam said sadly.

"Why did you have to be such an A-hole?"

Ayesha wailed in impotent rage and swung at her creation, but the universe around her went white before she could connect.


End file.
